Pryor Center to Host Airic Hughes Tonight and Jean Dennison Friday Night

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From left, Airic Hughes and Jean Dennison

The Pryor Center Presents spring lecture series presented by the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences concludes at 6 p.m. today with "The Language of State Will: Research Conclusions from 'Through the Heart of the City: Interstates and Black Geographies in Urban America'" featuring Airic Hughes, doctoral candidate in history at the U of A. 

The following evening, Jean Dennison, a member of the Osage Nation, associate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington and co-director for the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies, will present "Reclaiming Our Land: The Osage Nation Pursuit of Self-Determination" at 6 p.m. Friday.

Hughes will discuss how Federal urban renewal and interstate highway projects re-segregated American cities. U.S. Interstate 630 was constructed in Little Rock using the racialized language and tactics of urban renewal, promoting white supremacy as progressive social policy. Hughes' research illuminates how and why federal interstates are dynamic instruments of state will to form and inform Black geographies in urban spaces. 

Dennison's talk will engage with issues of national revitalization and build on her work on Osage politics. This is the first event in the year-long celebration of the Buffalo National River that is being sponsored by the U of A Chancellor's Fund and is under the management of the U of A Humanities Center and University Libraries' Special Collections. U of A professor Sean Teuton, director of indigenous studies, and professor emeritus George Sabo conceptualized and organized this event. A reception will follow in the main lobby.

Both events will be held in person and via Zoom. If you wish to attend virtually, please register in advance with an email address that is associated with a Zoom account. Registration is not required for in-person attendance.

Register to attend Airic Hughes' lecture via Zoom on Thursday, April 14
Register to attend Jean Dennison's lecture via Zoom on Friday, April 15

The Pryor Center is located at 1 E. Center St., Suite 120. The events are free and open to the public, and parking is available on the Fayetteville Square. 

Upcoming Events:

• Monday, May 23 — 10 a.m.
  OLLI Class: WWII Arkansas Relocation Centers - Register

About The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History: The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History is an oral history program with the mission to document the history of Arkansas through the collection of spoken memories and visual records, preserve the collection in perpetuity, and connect Arkansans and the world to the collection through the Internet, TV broadcasts, educational programs, and other means. The Pryor Center records audio and video interviews about Arkansas history and culture, collects other organizations' recordings, organizes these recordings into an archive, and provides public access to the archive, primarily through the website at pryorcenter.uark.edu. The Pryor Center is the state's only oral and visual history program with a statewide, seventy-five county mission to collect, preserve, and share audio and moving image recordings of Arkansas history.

About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with three schools, 16 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the majority of the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.